Placer-mining machine



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

FILED JAN. 4| 1922.

J. TALLON.

PLACER MINING MACHINE.

Jan. 16 1923.

ZSHEEYS-SHEET 2.

FILED JAN. 4. I922.

Patented Jan. 16, 1923.

JAMES TALLON, or LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA.

Be it known that I, Jmins/lAnLoN, a citizen of the-United States,- res'idin the city of Dong Beach, county of Lo's ngeles, State of Californimhave' invented certain new and useful Improvements: i11 Placer-- Mining Machines, of which the followingis" v a specification.

My invention relates' more particularly to amachine adapted to "be used in the desert, and in other placeswhere whafiisknown" as dry placer miningis or can be conducted. It is' acl-apted to'b'e transportedfrom place to place, and to be hand operated, although,

of course, power' canbe'used for operating f the same where available.-

Inorder to explain my invi'ention I have illustrated the'sa-ine on the accompanying two sheets of drawings, in wh-ich,--

Figure I is atop plan view of a machine embodying my invention Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof Figure 3 is -a fragmentary sectional view" taken on the -line 3 3' of Fig 1; and

Figure-4 isa similarview taken on-the line 4-'4 of 1.-

Referring now more in detail to thedrawings, my invention, as here showir'for illustrative. purposes, comprises a general frame composed of four corner posts 1, 1, connected at their upper ends with cross beams 2, 2, at the side, and 3 3-, at the front and rear, said frame preferably being mounted on runner members 4, 4. Pivotally supported from the top of said frame by eye-bolts 55, and links 6, 6, in an inclined position, is a swinging box or bed 7, as clearly seen in Fig. 4. Mounted in said box or bed are two rifle pans, 8 and 9, with the rifles l0, 10, therein as will be clear from Fig; 4. The rifle pan 8, is mounted rearwardly of and above the'rifle pan 9, and in such relationship thereto that overflow therefrom will be discharged into the rifle pan 9, It will be seen that the rifles are arran ed crosswise of the pans so that matter passing from one pan to the other must pass over the rifles. Above the rifle pan 8, in an inclined position, is mounted a screen- 11, around three sides of which is a wall or flange 12. It will be seen that the box or bed 7, is wider than said rifle pans 8 and 9, providing at one side a runway 13. Said screen preferably tilts slightly toward said runway and that side thereof is open so that coarse gravel discha g d onto said screen will be" discharged into the runway, and be moved downwardly, because of the incline" of said box or bed, to-the guide walls 14, 14

and thus'be'disohar'ged at the lowcrside or the machine onto a conveyerbelt 15, hereinafter again referred to, the riflepan 9, are hinged doors- 16, 17, which may be closed down and locked, as b y 'means are padlock-'18, Fi 1. Said rifle' -pansa re removablefromthe bed or 10622 7, and inthe construction shown, theupper'l'rifle pan must be removed fir t t.

over t'hedower rifle-pair When said doors 16317, arelotked said rifle pans are inac cess ible' and ca'rln'otbe removed. Said rifle Mounted above pans-will be suppliedbetween the rifles p with'a' quantity of quicksilver: The'gravel and sand containing the gold will be shov el'ed onto an endless conveyer'be'lt 19,;- sup-- ported in a frame 20,havingrollers 21, and

the drive-"shaft 22, with pulley 23. A mai n'f drive shat-13 24, ls'mou'nted in said frame and is provided with a driving pulley 25, conleyf2 3, for'drivings'ai'd endless belt- 19.- On

teeters-em of said main drivesha-Et 24, largedri'vmg"pulley 2-7, provlded with a handleQS, for hand o 'qerat-ion. A second" drive shaft 29, is-"inounte'din th forivai'd part of said frameand-isprovlded' on its out-er end W-ith'a pulley30, overwhich' runs abelt-Sf, from the large pulley 27." Said shaft29, is also provided with a," smaller pulley 32, over which runs a beltl33, to a pulley 34, on a shaft 35, at the lower endof the frame 36, upon which is supported and driven the endless belt 15, similar to the belt 19. These supporting frames 20 and 36, on

which are the belts 19 and 15, are adjustably mounted in any suitable manner, and may be supported by an adjustable leg or frame as 37, Fig, 2. Mounted on the shaft 29, is a beveled gear 38, which meshes with another beveled gear 39, mounted on a crank shaft 40, supportedin suitable beaings 41, 41, on

the frame members 42, 42, Said crank shaft 40, is pivotally connected by means of o a pitman arm 43, with the bed orbox 7, as

at 44, whereby when said crank shaft 40, is

operated, said body or box will be given an oscillating movement longitudinally of the containing gold, the sand and gravel is shoveled on to the conveyer belt 19, while he machine is in operation from which it is discharged on to the inclined screen 11, above the rifiie pan 8, the coarse gravel will be jostled off the lower side of the screen 11, into the runway 13, While the finer gravel and sand will pass through the screen 11, and into the quicksilver in the riflle pan '8. As said pan 8, is filled up between the rifiies, the overflow will run into the lower pan 9. It will be understood that during this operation the body or box is being oscillated in the manner referred to which agitates the quicksilver longitudinally between the riffles and causes it to move back and forth under the sand and gravel thereon in a way to agitate and shift the sand and gravel so that any gold or precious metal which may be mixed with the sand or gravel will be gathered by the quicksilver. This quick oscillating movement of the bed. or box not only agitates and settles the sand and gravel, but also agitates the quicksilver in its confined spaces between the riffles thereby making more effective its function of gathering the gold from the sand and gravel dischar ed thereonto. This agitation also causes the gold. to settle into the quicksilver. It will be understood of course that the coarser gravel and sand will overflow from one rifiie to the other and finally be discharged on to the discharge belt 15, by which it is carried away from the machine. It will be apparent from the construction, that the rifile pans can be easily removed at any time and the amalgam cleaned in the usualma-nner.

I am aware that my invention can be embodied in many different forms and in which the riftle pans will be supported for oscillation, and I do not therefore limit my invention to the details here shown for illustrative purposes, except as I may be limited by the hereto appended claim.

I claim:

A placer miningmachine comprising in combination, a supporting structure adapted to be moved from place to place, a bed suspended in said structure, in an inclined position, and adapted to be swung transversely of said. structure, a rifile pan with spaced riffies therein arranged transversely of said structure, said pan being mounted in the upper side of said bed and at one side thereof, to leave a space at the side of the bed, a screen over said rifiie pan, a wall around three sides of said screen, the side next to the space in said bed being left open, a second riflle pan mounted in the bottom of said bed, below said first pan, with rifi les therein, said second rifile pan being below the bottom of said first pan and adapted to receive overflow therefrom, a

cover over said second pan, said bed being open at its lower slde whereby overflow "from said rifi le pans is discharged there-- from, the space at the side of said bed also being open to the discharge lower side thereof, with means for guiding matter from said space to the discharge side of said bed, means for swinging said bed and said riiile pans together longitudinally of said riffles, and means for feeding sand and gravel to the screen above the first rifiie pan, substantially as shown and described.

Signed at Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, this 23rd day of December, 1921.

JAMES TALLON.

Witnesses:

W. R. LITZENBERG, MAI FIELD DOUGLAS. 

